Blog | Page 48 of 158 | Boston Children's Answers

The art of showing up: Six ways to support a friend who has a child in the hospital

Posted on October 3, 2022 by Katie Paradis | Health and Parenting

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do.” Nine little words spoken with the best of intentions but aren’t necessarily all that helpful for someone faced with having a child in the hospital. But why? “People really want to do good things,” says Annie Banks, a social worker with the Hale Family Center for ... Read More

Tagged: child life, grief

Innovative flatfoot surgery releases Quinn’s inner athlete

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Joanne Barker | Patient Stories

Tags: flatfoot, lower extremity, orthopedics, surgery

By the time he was 10, Quinn’s parents had tried almost everything. Dawn would sometimes massage his feet to relieve the pain and tightness caused by flexible flatfoot, a condition in which a child has very little or no arch in their feet. Joseph did physical therapy exercises with him at night. But despite their ... Read More

Tagged: flatfoot, lower extremity, orthopedics, surgery

Tim Springer: Scientist, entrepreneur, and mentor

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Nancy Fliesler and Trisha Gura | People, Research

Tags: autoimmune disease, cancer, cellular and molecular medicine, drug development, hematology, immunology, infectious diseases

As an undergraduate in 1966, immunologist, biochemist, and biophysicist Timothy A. Springer, PhD, looked askance at science. The Vietnam War was going on, and he saw science as a means of making Agent Orange and napalm. Questioning his own Ivy League education, he left Yale to spend a year as a VISTA volunteer on a ... Read More

Tagged: autoimmune disease, cancer, cellular and molecular medicine, drug development, hematology, immunology, infectious diseases

If your baby or toddler needs peritoneal dialysis: Tips for parents

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Joanne Barker | Our Community, People

Tags: kidney failure, nephrology

Marybeth Bentson and Theresa Pak have helped a lot of families cope with childhood kidney disease. As long-time nurses in the Division of Nephrology at Boston Children’s Hospital, the two have cared for children at every stage of kidney disease, including children on dialysis. Dialysis filters a child’s blood when their kidneys are unable to ... Read More

Tagged: kidney failure, nephrology

Using germs against themselves: How vaccines work

Posted on September 27, 2022 by Joanne Barker | Health and Parenting

Tags: coronavirus, infectious diseases, vaccines

Germs are all around us. When a germ (in the form of virus or bacteria) enters your body, it tries to make you sick. Some germs cause minor colds, but others can cause serious disease. Fortunately, your immune system is your body’s internal defense system. It protects you by creating immune cells (T cells) and ... Read More

Tagged: coronavirus, infectious diseases, vaccines

Beyond COVID-19: Why kids need other vaccines, too

Posted on September 27, 2022 by Albert McKeon | Health and Parenting

Tags: community health, coronavirus, flu, global health, immunology, infectious diseases

As you consider immunizing your child, it’s natural to have questions about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. But the detection of polio in New York illustrates how diseases that were once thought to have been eradicated can reemerge when vaccination efforts lag. While COVID-19 vaccines have understandably drawn attention during recent years, it’s important to remember ... Read More

Tagged: community health, coronavirus, flu, global health, immunology, infectious diseases

Adjusting to sitosterolemia took time, but Justin is now on a healthy path

Posted on September 26, 2022 by Albert McKeon | Patient Stories

Tags: cholesterol, diet, heart, heart center, heart patient, rare disease

After Justin Zhao was diagnosed with the rare metabolic disorder sitosterolemia five years ago, the toughest part of treatment was watching his three siblings eat chocolate when he couldn’t. Sitosterolemia is a genetic disease that causes the fatty substances, or lipids, from plant-based foods such as nuts and vegetable oils to build up in the arteries, increasing ... Read More

Tagged: cholesterol, diet, heart, heart center, heart patient, rare disease

Preventing ‘chemo brain’ with antioxidants targeting the spinal fluid

Posted on September 23, 2022 by Nancy Fliesler | Basic/Translational, Research

Tags: acute lymphoblastic leukemia, brain injury, brain tumor, cancer, chemotherapy, leukemia, osteosarcoma, toxins

Up to three-quarters of patients receiving cancer chemotherapy suffer from “chemo brain” — a side effect that makes it harder to remember things, maintain attention, and learn new information. When it strikes children, whose brains are still developing, effects are sometimes long lasting, affecting their schoolwork and self-esteem. “One of the most distressing potential side ... Read More

Tagged: acute lymphoblastic leukemia, brain injury, brain tumor, cancer, chemotherapy, leukemia, osteosarcoma, toxins

Matthew, the ‘wee marvel’: One of the first ALD gene therapy recipients

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Emily Williams | Patient Stories

Tags: adrenoleukodystrophy, gene therapy, international

When the Elliott brothers are asked how many siblings they have, they always say, “four.” It’s a way of honoring the memory of their eldest brother, Marc, who died in 2010 from adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). ALD is a degenerative condition that destroys the protective sheath surrounding the brain’s neurons. Gradually, as the disease progresses, symptoms grow ... Read More

Tagged: adrenoleukodystrophy, gene therapy, international

Children with psychotic symptoms may merit genetic testing, finds study

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Nancy Fliesler | Clinical, Research

Tags: genetics and genomics, psychiatry

A 6-year-old boy began seeing ghosts, aliens in trees, and colored footprints. More disturbingly, he heard voices coming from the walls and the school intercom telling him to hurt himself and others. Joseph Gonzalez-Heydrich, MD, a psychiatrist at Boston Children’s Hospital, put him on antipsychotic medications at age 9. The frightening hallucinations stopped. While children ... Read More

Tagged: genetics and genomics, psychiatry